HELLO, November

Hello, November! You bring with you the close of our Fall Break and although that comes with a certain bittersweetness, we are sure blessed to have had this time. We’re ready for the leaves to keep changing, as we’ve slowly watched them be painted in the bejeweled colours of autumn’s richness.

We’re ready for more and soups and stews built into our weekly menu planning. We’re ready to sit outside in the crisp early morning air while we enjoy a hot cup of coffee and listen the birds. We’re ready for the build-up to Thanksgiving while we we work on creating our cooking and baking plan of action for this year.

We’re ready to watch more movies on our “Fall Movie List” and for our annual Alan Alda Weekend. Where we cozily munch on salty popcorn while being buried beneath blankets and take breaks to make stew, or a pot roast or soup with crusty bread and a big salad with Kissabel apples, pecans and goat’s cheese with a dijon vinaigrette all while spending the weekend watching, “The Four Seasons” and “Same Time, Next Year”.

We’re ready for the nights to close in even earlier since we “fell back” and for afternoon strolls along the water to see what’s changing and then racing home to ward off the chill with hot cups of tea to hand. We’re ready for the candles to be lit as evening draws in. We’re ready for pancakes for dinner on chilly nights and thick slices of apple pie with vanilla ice cream on a Saturday afternoon coffee break.

We’re ready for all that you offer and we shall drink in your autumnal bounty till the last drop because we don’t want to miss a moment.

{Martha Stewart | Thanksgiving at Turkey Hill | 1976 | “This photo was taken one Thanksgiving in our 1805 kitchen at Turkey Hill, in Connecticut,” Martha explains. “The fire was roaring, and I was putting the finishing touches on the table, which was set with kerosene lanterns, brown splatterware dishes, and rustic flatware for a small gathering. I loved my pretty blouse and full-waisted skirt in this picture—and the meal we shared with family and friends.” | Pinned HERE}

Happy, Halloween

🎃🌛🐈‍⬛ HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! 🐈‍⬛🌜🎃

May your candy haul be epic; with no pennies, pencils or apples (unless they are covered in caramel)!

{Myrna Hansen (Miss USA 1953 runner-up/actress) | Cover of the Sunday Mirror Magazine Section (New York) | October 25, 1953 | Pinned HERE}

HELLO, October

Hello, October!! We’re ready for you to bring us cooler temperatures and that whistling magic on the wind that comes with the rustle of the leaves and a real changing of the seasons. 

We’re ready for cozy al fresco breakfast dates and pouring an extra cup of coffee on a Saturday morning. We’re ready for our first official crunchy leaves underfoot walks and strolling back home with the smell of woodsmoke in the air. 

We’re ready for the pantry to be stocked back up with homemade apple sauce, homemade apple butter and to eat our fill of apple pies and crumbles topped with vanilla ice cream for dessert. 

We’re looking forward to your farewell gift at the end of the month with Halloween landing on a Saturday and the party that will entail. We’re ready to hunker down into this cozy season with reading, chess playing, jigsaw puzzling, movie watching and popcorn eating. 

Welcome, October. We’re ready for you with arms wide open, ready to be filled with magic!  

{Debbie Mumm | Pinned HERE}

HELLO, September

Hello, September. You brought a deliciously crisp morning with your arrival today. The past few dawns have been cooler, but then the day heats up quickly and cools back off again after sunset. We’re moving into what my Grandmother would call “Indian Summer”. 

The light has changed, it’s a little paler, a little more buttery, a little more ivory. It feels different on your skin. It’s casting different shadows. 

We’re ready for this change of season, but I don’t think Lady Summer is quite ready to loosen her fingers. We’re not quite ready for school to start again, we’ve been too busy playing chess, watching old movies, cooking together and laying under the breeze of the fan, listening to an album while outside the heatwave pressed on. 

We’re ready to taste the last dregs from the goblet of summer on our tongues, to quench our thirst for her before she returns next year. We’re ready for this adventure we’re in to continue to unfold before us. We’re still finding our footing, but we’ve made great strides. 

Welcome, September. We can’t wait to see all that you have waiting for us. 

{“Yellow Kitchen” | Elisabeth Dorrian | Pinned HERE}

HELLO, August

Hello, August! We’ve walked away from July and into your arms on a high and we’re having way too much fun already.

We’re ready to continue going on ice cream dates and long strolls through the parks. We’re ready for evening walks, checking in on our ever growing brood of cygnets.

We’re ready for PB&J sandwiches and salty potato chips for lunch while we watch an old episode of “Bewitched” or “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”. We’re ready for afternoon movie dates with popcorn. We’re ready for lazy afternoons on the balcony perfecting our chess game or playing cards while records spin from inside.

We’re ready for cold iced tea and crackers smeared with pimento cheese as a late afternoon snack while we slowly start work on dinner. We’re ready for date nights with Mr. Michie’s glorious cheeseburgers, with thick slices of heirloom tomatoes and fresh corn on the cob oozing with butter.

You’ve already started our month with sunshine and a cool breeze, you know our heart’s desires and all that we are ready for you to bring us this month before school starts again in the fall.

Hello, August! Our cup runneth over!

{French cinema icon ⁠Brigitte Bardot relaxing outdoors in a color-blocked tank top and a shell-adorned straw hat playing cards. | 1960s | Pinned HERE}

HELLO, July

Hello, July! You come on the downward rollercoaster spiral of a serious heatwave we’ve had here in Merry Ol’ England and it looks like you shall be bringing some warm weather with you as well.

We’re ready for the BIG 250th Anniversary Fourth of July celebrations we’re going to have this year, we’re ready for school to now start to officially wind down for the summer, although, there is still lots to do. We’re ready for our annual Christmas in July party and all the fun that brings.

We’re ready to have mixed fruit cobblers for dinner with heaping scoops of vanilla ice cream in this warmer weather. We’re ready for long walks in shady spots, drinking in the breeze along the water.

We’re ready for weekend afternoon board games on the balcony with good snacks and frosty drinks. We’re ready for evenings spent on the glider, moving back and forth while watching the moon rise and listening to the birds sing their evening song.

We’re ready for the adventures that we have planned and for the adventures that we don’t know are waiting for us to discover them. Welcome, July! We are ready to greet YOU with arms open WIDE!

{“Watermelon Slice on the Beach” | Tatsuro Kiuchi | Pinned HERE}

HELLO, June

Hello, June. You’ve come whispering in on the heel’s of the full “Flower Moon” and a Blue Moon to boot, which feels auspicious. May was a dream that ended with a trip to the most magical of circuses and playing in the balcony garden and we’re ready for all the magic that you bring; the early morning balcony coffee dates, the late night balcony dates, sitting by the glow of the twinkle lights, music drifting through the screened door, listening to the water trickle from the fountain and smelling the heady scent of tea roses perfuming the air around us.

We’re ready for you to bring us closer into summer and the promise of shortcakes for dinner, loaded with luscious layers of vanilla whipped cream and perfectly ripe strawberries. We’re ready for riverside picnics and long strolls through the nature reserve.

We’re ready for late Friday night movie nights watching 80s classics on the projector. We’re ready for sweet tea and pimento cheese sandwiches with salty potato chips. We’re ready to stay up late working on a puzzle or a game of scrabble, or pick-up our ever continuing game of UNO.

We’re ready for this pace you bring as we seem to be picking up speed before the school year comes to a close next month and the rush to get all things accomplished. We’re ready to keep dancing, to keep enjoying life and finding JOY in all the little things as we move closer into these hazy, lazy days of summer.

{Girls by the Water | Guillermo Arias | Pinned HERE}

HELLO, May

Hello, May. We’re ready for you bringing out the sun just a little earlier every morning and the opportunity to watch the sunrise with a hot cup of coffee in hand from our balcony perch. 

We’re ready for our days to continue to lengthen as we move more fully into this next season. We’re ready for more of these warmer Spring days that Lady April brought us. 

We’re ready to continue being on “nest watch”, as we eagerly await the arrival of a brood of goslings and a brood of cygnets. We check on their downy feathered nests daily as we stroll by the river cheering on our soon to be feathered mamas. 

We’re ready for our anniversary date you’ll bring us this month with the chance to attend a magical event we eagerly await for the arrival of all year. 

We’re ready for the two long weekends we get this month and for Spring Break and the opportunity to get a few projects completed. 

We’re ready for Saturday movie nights, with the projector flickering a favourite movie and a pizza. We’re ready for balcony dates and yacht rock playing through the windows, while we drink in all that you have to offer. 

Welcome, May! We’re ready for you! 

{Jayne Mansfield | Photographed at the Rome Cavalieri Hilton, during the production of L’Amore Primitivo | 1964 | Pinned HERE}